A Thin Line Between This and That

Chapter One: Green

Chapter One:
When I came to the hospital room was still full of strangers. My vision swam, my head hurt, and my body felt like it was glued to the hospital bed. The Officers in blue uniforms near the door were yelling at a doctor who was trying to shoo them away, and the noise made the pain in my head worse. I wanted to tell them so, but when I opened my mouth a wave of nausea cut me off. One of the nurses near the other side of the room came over and saw that I was awake.
She called over to the doctor, but the words she spoke made no sense to me. The doctor turned away from the officers and they followed him over to my bed. He checked the machines above my bed and said something to another nurse. She left and the Doc faced me, touching my head and asking me something. His touch caused more pain and I still could not understand anything that was happening or being said so I made a grimace at him and closed my eyes. I wanted desperately to tell him that I hurt all over, felt like vomiting, and didn't know what he was saying, but even the motions of making a small noise caused me discomfort.
The pressure from his hand disappeared and I reopened my eyes feeling like I might cry. The doctor spoke hurriedly with the first nurse and then said something angrily at the officers. They retorted and left, looking back at me suspiciously. I picked out a few words spoken in the exchange, but they still meant nothing to me. I looked around as best I could, trying to take in my surroundings, and noticed a person standing in the near corner of the room.
He was young, not yet middle aged, and of a fair but sturdy build. He wore a black and blue patterned jumpsuit of some sort. He looked like a weirdo standing there in such a ridiculous costume with a solemn expression. I realized that he was watching me intently, his eyes boring holes into me. I could almost imagine the pain I was feeling was the fault of him and his gaze. I looked away and closed my eyes again as the other nurse came back. I felt a dull prick on my neck, but I felt to tired to complain or reach for what was hurting me more. I slipped into darkness with a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I had forgotten something of importance.

An incessant beeping slowly pulled me out of my dreams and I opened my eyes intend on ending whatever was causing the noise. The fluorescent light above me hurt my eyes with their brightness so I squinted and turned my face away. The motion caused aches in my neck to complain, but I ignored it and sought the source of what had woken me. It was the machine next to me. I try to reach over and turn it off somehow, but my arms wouldn't move. I looked down to where my hands were and saw that they were held at my sides by straps. From what I could tell, my feet must have been held down in a similar manner. I relented my efforts to laying still in annoyance and thinking my situation though.
"I am in a hospital, and from what I can tell, something bad must have happened to me. The police don't show up in hospitals unless villains and heros are injured, or natural disasters occur."
I looked around the windowless room, whitewashed and empty except for my bed and the medical equipment. The door in the wall to my left was made of a shiny metal, and I suspected that the large mirror on the wall opposite me was one-way glass. Conclusion--I was involved in something bad enough for isolation and observation, but not on the level of contaminated isolation.
"So, I'm not sick or infected..., but what going on?"
The door opened.

I turned my head, ignoring the pain, and watched the doctor from before come over to me.
"How are you feeling?" He asked good naturedly.
"It hurts." I told him, my voice sounding pitiful in my own ears.
"Where?" He inquired, checking the machines and charts.
I thought of that for a moment before responding "Everywhere. Especially my head and neck."
"Let's see." He said and looked at me seriously. It was very odd. After a few awkward moments he muttered something to himself and made notes on the charts. He then leaned over, freed my hands, and helped me into an upright sitting position.
"I'm going to do a cognitive test on you," he explained. "It's simple; I ask you to do something, and you do it to the best of your abilities, alright."
"Yeah." I said, not really understanding.
"Ok, to start, raise your left hand."
I did.
"Good. How high can you raise it?"
I could raise my hand well above my head before my shoulder hurt too badly.
"That's fine." The doctor assured me. "Now, can you raise your right hand for me?"
I could.
"How high can you lift it?"
I could only raise my hand as high as level with my shoulder because of the pain.
"That's alright, it will get easier as you heal." He said and took my left hand to proceed with the test.
"Doctor, don't touch him!" Someone yelled frantically and the door flew open.
In that same moment everything around me became transparent. I could see people with guns on the other side of the mirror, then masses of muscle and organs further and closer. Then the masses became upright skeletons, then spotts of pure energy. It was too much. My senses were on overload and my head throbbed with crippling pain. A bright mass of energy rushed at me and I screamed and flailed at it. All of my body screamed with me in pain. Then is saw the stranger from before, dressed in that absurd suit, his hands holding my head. Still in shock from what I had just experienced, all my mind could comprehend was the blue color of his eyes and the cold of his hands.
He pressed firmly on my temples, eliciting a sharp pain, and I cried out in my discomfort, but I didn't ask him to remove his hands. I did not want to see again what I had just seen.
"Mr. Skyler, you're hurting him." The doctor complained in my stead.
"You shouldn't have touched him then." He retorted brusquely.
"My ability has no battle capabilities." He explained. "It is hardly dangerous if he copies my vision."
"It is hardly safe to assume that, Doctor Birge." The weirdo snapped, pressing harder as he did so. I tried to stay quiet, but a whimper of pain escaped my lips, prompting the stranger to look at me.
"Be quiet." He ordered sharply. "It's your own fault, Idiot." He called me idiot like it was a pet name he had called me before. I was offended, but ignored it.
"H-how so?" I asked.
His left eye twitched as if he wanted to hit something, but he only removed his hands. I almost yelled at him to leave them there, but he asked "Is the Vision gone?" and stared at me coldly.
"Yes." I muttered quietly, blinking in relief. He seemed satisfied with that and pulled a pair of black gloves with metallic bracelets from his utility belt. "Give me your hands." He demanded. I raised my left hand and he grabbed it firmly by the wrist, yanking it towards him. It hurt a little, but I held back a grunt. He forced the glove into my hand, careful not to touch my skin, and the bracelet made a sharp click when it was on.
"Other hand."
I tried to raise my right hand to him, but it hurt so much. He grabbed my arm anyway and shoved on the other glove, and this time I could not suppress my scream. He looked shocked and let go. My hand fell uselessly into my lap and I leaned back, gritting my teeth in pain.
"Now see here!" Dr. Birge roared. "I will not have you yanking around my patient! I don't care what your excuse is, I will not have it!"
"You don't know how cunning he can be, Doctor!" He roared back. "You've never been on the receiving end of his tricks and lies! I have and know what he is capable of, so do not tell me how to do my job!"
"You... know me?" I whimpered.